Investing is so risky!

[nizar]

I read this quote sometime ago but never found it again when i wanted to quote it so many times in response to those that think of daytraders or any type of trader as "risky".

"Investors are the big gamblers. They make a bet, stay with it, and if it goes the wrong way, they lose it all" - Jesse Livermore.

Very true.

 

[vishalt]

What about the money we make also?

Once you put money in a pokie machine its an instant win or loss, where as trading is much more liquid (both ways) where you can have stop-losses & limit orders, so there is a form of risk control and many tools like research/charts/announcements to help your decisions where as gambling is simply pure luck.

I don't plan to live on superann/bank savings all my life thanks!

 

[codyheit]

This is one of the greatest debates.

I believe some investors are gamblers but the majority are just investors.

 

[Julia]

I read this quote sometime ago but never found it again when i wanted to quote it so many times in response to those that think of daytraders or any type of trader as "risky".

"Investors are the big gamblers. They make a bet, stay with it, and if it goes the wrong way, they lose it all" - Jesse Livermore.

Very true.

That's a really silly generalisation which implies that all investors hold losers without exercising any decision to quit.

Why do you think the comment is true, Nizar?

 

[So_Cynical]

Investing is similar to gambling, depending on how u invest or gamble.

there are extremes at both ends, all things considered simple
gambling (pokies) is way more risky than simple investing (BHP shares)

 

[brilliantmichael]

...than simple investing (BHP shares)

I know this may sound ridiculous but, doesn't risk extend to commodities too?

 

[It's Snake Pliskin]

That's a really silly generalisation which implies that all investors hold losers without exercising any decision to quit.

Why do you think the comment is true, Nizar?

I read this quote sometime ago but never found it again when i wanted to quote it so many times in response to those that think of daytraders or any type of trader as "risky".

"Investors are the big gamblers. They make a bet, stay with it, and if it goes the wrong way, they lose it all" - Jesse Livermore.

Very true.

I agree with Julia that this is a generalised comment unworthy of regurgitation.

 

[ROE]

Investing is risky..nothing is risk free but comparing investing to gambling is crazy... I think people who make this sort of comments are not investors but scare mongers to talk you out of it .. they probably pop their money into the pokies instead.

Gambling once you made a bet and lost, you cant get your money back, unless you risk more capital to win by the same amount back, and if you didn't win you lose more capital.

and the pokies for every dollar you put in you get 97 cents back so it's a guarantee lost of 3 cents per dollar.

Investing: if the stock go down you don't have to sell and no real loss is actually taken on your account...you can still get dividends and unless the company folds, your stocks should eventually return to that level and if the company is doing well it well exceed that initial level.

 

[cuttlefish]

I read this quote sometime ago but never found it again when i wanted to quote it so many times in response to those that think of daytraders or any type of trader as "risky".

"Investors are the big gamblers. They make a bet, stay with it, and if it goes the wrong way, they lose it all" - Jesse Livermore.

Very true.

Depends on the definition of an investor. Most sensible investors review the fundamentals and price of a stock and make sure they are in synch and move out of the investment if the fundamental outlooks deteriorates or if the stock price appreciates well beyond anything justified by the fundamental outlook.

Does this activity of moving in and out of stocks based on fundamentals now make them a trader rather than an investor?

I still find the whole trader vs investor debate a bit pointless as they are not mutually exclusive.

 

[adobee]

Poor men play the pokies, rich men play the stock market..

 

[Morgan]

I once heard two aquaintances arguing over stock market investing vs horse racing.
The guy who preferred the stock market countered: "At least by investing in a stock my 'horse' gets to run a race every day for the same initial purchase price".

 

[Julia]

I still find the whole trader vs investor debate a bit pointless as they are not mutually exclusive.

Exactly. Doesn't stop these silly remarks being made over and over again, though, in some pointless effort to prove one style is superior to the other.

 

[tech/a]

Investors have the money to invest.
Traders have the money to trade.